An overpriced and under-bundled 64MB Hercules video card goes under the microscope. The Kryo3D card and a Via Apollo Pro A motherboard also come under scrutiny while Tech Review puts some go faster stripes on its modems...

A review of the 64MB Hercules Prophet II has been posted at Planet Hardware. It seems they are mostly impressed, particularly with the shiny blue heat sinks. The extra memory comes into play at higher resolutions, increasing frame rate by 20 per cent. On the downside, it is expensive and doesn't come bundled with games. The guys are preparing to overclock it next, and will be posting a review in the coming week.

Keeping with the graphics card theme, EuroGamer recently got its hands on a pre-release version of PowerVR's new Kyro3D graphics card. They are playing very fair, and haven't done a full review, but you can see what initial impressions have formed in their preview.

Motherboards now, and ViaHardware.com has posted a review on the VIA Apollo Pro A motherboard from Tekram, the S3-Pro Au. Fast and stable as it is, the board scored a respectable 3.5/5 rating. However, because of the limited FSB and voltage selection the reviewers do not recommend it to serious overclockers.

Up next: data transfer rates. Are you getting the best out of your net connection? According toTech Review it is extremely unlikely. The site has just posted a guide to squeezing all the juice possible out of your connection. Okay, so it's not rocket science, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth checking out.

And finally, just for something completely different, an interview with Ion Storm's John Romero has just gone live on gameplay's site. ®